The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-05-20

don, and Heaven. oh, then how we have
to lay to tho oarsi You all have youl
temptation. You have one kind, you an
other, not one person escaping. t. Il Z
steady
81 could not be tempted as you arc"
The lion thinks it is SO strange that the
fish should be caught with hook. Thu
fish thinks it is so strange that the lion
should be caught with trap. You see
some man with cold, phlegmatic tenn.
permanent, and you say:
II suppose that man has not any tempta-
ton"
Yes, as much as you have. In his
phlegmatic nature he has temptation "a
incidence, and consciousness, and over
eating and drinking; temptation to ig.
more the great work Of life; temptation
to lay down an obstacle in the way Of all
good enterprises. The temperament Dc
cides the styles Of temptation; but, san
guine or lymphatic, you will have tempta-
ton. Satan has q grappling-hook just
fitted to your soul. A man never lives
beyond the reach Of temptation. You say
when q man gets to be seventy or eighty
years Of age he is safe from all Satanic
assault You are very much mistaken.
A man at eighty-hve years Of age has as
many temptations as a man Of twenty.
five. They are only different styles OF
temptation.
Ask the aged Christian whether he is
never assaulted of the powers of dark
ness. II you think you have conquered
the power Of temptation, you are very
much mistaken.
A man who wanted q throne pretended
he was very weak ard sickly, and il he
was elevated he would soon be gone. He
crawled upon his crutches to the throne,
and, having attained it. he was strong
again. He said:
ut was well for me, while I was look
ing for the scepter Of another, that
should stoop; but now that have found
it, why should l stoop any longer." and he
threw away his crutches and was well
again.
How illustrative Of the power Of te
tationi You think it is q weak and Grip.
pied influence; but give it o chance and it
will become tyrant IN your soul; it will
grind you to atoms. No man has finally
and forever overcome temptation until he
has left the world. Bat what are you to
do with these temptationsl Tell every
body about theml All, what Q silly man
you would bel
As well might q commander in fort
send word to the enemy which gate Of the
castle is least barred, as for yoa to 60 and
tell what all your failings are, and what
your temptations are. The world will
only caricature you, will only SCOT at you.
What then must a man dol When the
wave strikes him with terrific dash, shall
he have nothing to hold on tot In this
contest with ''the world, the flesh and the
DEVIL" shall q man have no help, no
counsell
Our text intimatcs something different.
In those eyes that wept with the Bethany
sisters see shining hope. In that voice
which spake until the grave broke and the
widow Of Main had back her lost son, and
the sea slept, and sorrow stupendous woke
up in the arms Of raptu rein that voice /
hear the word of command and the
promise:
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he will
sustain thee.
Why should you carry YOUR burdens any
longerl Oh, you weary soul, Christ has
been in this conflict. He says:
My grace shall be sufficient for you You
shall not be tempted above that you are able
to bear
Therefore, with all your temptations,
60, as these disciples did, and tell Jesus.
Again, ] commend the behavior Of the
disciples to all those who are abused and
slandered and prosecuted. When Hercd
put John to death the disciples knew that
their own heads were not safe. And do
you know that every John has Herod!
There are persons in life who do not wish
you very WELL Through their teeth they
hiss at you, misinterpret your motives,
and woul] be glad to see you upset. No
man gets through life without
having a pummeling. Some SANDER
comes after you, horned and husked and
hoofed, to gore and trample you; and
what are you to dot tell you plainly
that all who serve Christ must suffer per-
secution. 1t is the worst sign in the
world for you to be able to say:
81 haven't an enemy in the world"
A woe is pronounced in the Bible
against the one Of whom every body
speaks well. If you are at peace with all
the world, and every body likes you and
approves your work it is because you are
an idler in the Lords vineyard and are
not doing your duty.
All those who have served Christ, how
some stage Of their experience. You
know it was SO in the time of George
Whitefeld, when he stood and invited
men into the kingdom of God. What did
the learned DR.. johnson say Of himl He
him a miserable mountebank.
How was it when Robert Hall stood and
spoke as scarcely any uninspired man
ever did speak Of the glories Of Heavenl
A - 10 Col h.,th Co.
preaching on these themes his face
kindled with the glory. John Foster, a
Christian man, said of this man:
"Robert Hall is only acting, and the
smile on his face is reflection Of his own
vanity"
John Wesley turned all England upside
down with Christian reform, and yet the
punsters were after him, and the meanest
jokes in England were perpetrated about
John Wesley. What is true Of the pulpit
is true Of the pew; it is true Of the street,
it is true of the shop and the store. Ali
who will live cody in Christ Jesus must
suffer persecution.
And set it down as the very worst sign
in all your Christian experience if you
are, any Of you, at peace with the world.
The religion of Christ is war. It is
to "the world, the flesh and the
devils" and if you will buckle on the
whole armor Of God you will find great
host disputing your path between this
and Heaven. But what are you to do
when you are assaulted and slandered
and abused, as suppose nearly all of you
have been in your lifes Go out and hunt
up the slanderera o. no, silly man!
While you are explaining away false
hood in one place fifty people will just
have heard Of it in other places
counsel you to another course. While
you are not to omit any opportunity Of
setting yourselves right, want to tell
you this morning Of one who had the hard
EST things said about HIM, whose sobriety
was disputed, whose mission was scout